Shang Hu and more than 300 people selected from various camps to add to the guard camp were mainly new soldiers who had fought bravely against the Chuzhou Army's cavalry raids in the past few days. They were summoned and followed a dozen cavalrymen to the east.
In a mountain col at the northern foot of Lushan Mountain.
This place was originally a village of ten families, mainly occupied by tenant farmers attached to Shangjiabao, and the thatched huts were dilapidated and dilapidated.
The original tenants didn't know where they were driven away, and now it has become a camp where the Chishan Army besieged Shangjiapu.
Shang Hu and others gathered together, and those who did not have armor were put on armor or scale armor that even the first-level military attachés of the ordinary sentry team might not have. Shang Hu did not know why there were so many pierced armor and scale armor in the army suddenly.
A has extra money and distributes it to them.
Afterwards, the incomplete weapons in their hands were taken away and replaced with sharper straight-ridged knives or halberds. They were broken up and organized into sentry teams with insufficient numbers, and the number of heavy armored soldiers in each sentry team was strengthened to one hundred people.
about.
Shang Hu only has a vague understanding of troop formations these days, but he also knows that if the Chuzhou Army really wants to mobilize such a group of heavily armored soldiers to attack their flanks, those armies dominated by new recruits will definitely
He was killed and his armor was thrown away.
It's just that he didn't know why the Chuzhou Army didn't have much determination to attack them. Anyway, they had a lot of new recruits, and they quickly adapted to the rhythm of the battlefield.
Charging into battle is just that, advance and retreat together with the same team, don't panic, the opponent will have two or three spears coming towards you, if you can get six or seven spears out, you will win.
Even if you are scattered, don't panic. The more panicked, the faster you will die. If you gather three or five people and have a big shield, you can hold on for a while, waiting for the soldiers behind to come.
They were born to be miserable, enslaved like mules and horses, and lived like coptis. They had not tasted the slightest bit of sweetness, and had no deep nostalgia for life. What were they afraid of death?
It's just that Shang Hu still doesn't know how his mother, brothers and sisters, who were imprisoned by the Shang family in the water prison, are doing now or whether they have been released. He sits on the mud in the queue and thinks wildly.
At this time, a young general, who was no more than two or three years older than him, walked over wearing a black armor. As he walked, the armor plates were beating and beating.
Shang Hu and the generals on his left and right stood up, but the young general had no unnecessary nonsense. He just said a few words to the team leaders in front of the array, waved his hands, and when he heard the new team leaders shouting in front, he wiped his hands.
Put the new saber into the cowhide belt, hold the sharp-edged spear, and head toward the mountain pass ahead with more than 500 armored soldiers.
Shang Hu is very familiar with Shangjiabao.
Shangjiabao is divided into Lower Fort and Upper Fort.
The lower fort was mainly inhabited by slaves who were engaged in hard labor. There were also workshops such as water mills and cattle and horse stables built in the lower fort. The fort was small and dilapidated, and the walls built were only to prevent the slaves living inside from escaping.
Shangbao is where the Shang family lives.
Although the difference in population between the upper and lower forts is more than ten times, the area occupied by them is the same. This shows how cramped and cramped the slaves in the lower forts live. Shang Hu knows that when it rains, his thatched house will be destroyed.
The room was so leaky that there was no place for anyone to lie down.
The upper fort is naturally extremely wide, and there is a meadow of more than 200 acres behind the upper fort.
Every time during the Baixia Festival, the meadows grow with luxuriant green grass and many unknown wild flowers. The female family members in the castle come out to play. Their faces and figures are so beautiful. Shang Hu always feels happy at this time.
He was like grass, and his heart was pounding with panic. It was taboo just to peek.
Shang Hu still remembers that once he helped the second son's bride to pick up a feather shuttlecock that fell into the ravine. He couldn't help but take a greedy look at it when returning it, but he received ten lashes.
Even so, he could not forget those eyes that were like stars in the sky, like red-hot irons, deeply burned into his heart.
If she could touch those pink little hands, or hold them against her heart, so that she could feel how fierce her heartbeat was, then even if she received ten more lashes, no, even if she died, she would be fine.
Are you willing?
A stone ramp built on the edge of the mountain stream connects the upper and lower forts, which are only more than 300 steps apart.
Soldiers and horses had already captured the lower fort before. When Shang Hu passed by, he saw hundreds of slaves in ragged clothes and sallow faces being sent down the mountain.
Just to maintain order, the groups of soldiers escorting the slaves down the mountain were all wearing tattered robes and only tied a white sweat scarf around their necks to show the difference between soldiers and civilians. Their weapons were very simple and they were all new soldiers, but their expressions were all the same.
Biao Li, when you get closer, you can see that most of his bodies have scars, but they don't look like slaves who have just surrendered to the army.
But Shang Hu didn't want to think too carefully. He looked around and saw that most of the slaves coming down the mountain had familiar faces, but he didn't see his mother and younger brothers and sisters. He stopped several people to ask, but they all said no.
If you see a human figure, you may still be on the fort.
The distance between the upper and lower forts of Shangjiabao is only three hundred steps, but after passing through the mountain pass, there is a stone paved ramp more than ten feet wide. One side is dark brown rock, the other side is two to three feet deep, and the bottom
It is full of streams rolling out of the mountains, and on the other side of the stream there is a steep slope with mountains and rocks that cannot stand on.
The stone path has an angle of nearly 30 degrees, facing the Shang family's upper fort. The thick fortress gate is built with huge rocks, and a wooden shed is built on it for people to shoot arrows from the crenels and throw wood and rolling stones.
Shang Hu saw that the stone path was stained with blood. He must have sent troops to attack before, but the restricted terrain was too dangerous and they were pushed back. He didn't know how many people died, so he had to mobilize the elite heavy armor from the guard camp to attack.
Entering the starting position, Shang Hu saw that the steep slopes on both sides had been flattened, and six crossbows were set up on both sides to block the stone path to prevent the village soldiers from fighting back from inside. There were also some obstacles such as horses and deer antlers piled in front, waiting for the attack.
will move away.
There are steps on the stone path. An ordinary sidecar is quite heavy and there is no way to push it up. However, Shang Hu saw that in the open space on the side, there were many craftsmen on site building some wooden frames that could support large shields.
It is obvious that once the defenders throw the logs from the crenels, the short wooden stakes weighing hundreds or even hundreds of kilograms will roll down along the terrain. No matter how strong they are, it will be difficult to carry the large shield directly on their shoulders.
These wooden frames were placed behind the large shield, but they could deflect the momentum of the rolling logs and withstand the rain of arrows shot by locust swarms.
There is a dedicated person in charge of this. A person who looks like a team leader, with a sentry of soldiers, practices on the gentle slope on the side how to place the big shield in the first place, and then move back.
Soon Shang Hu's sentry team was also pulled over to cooperate with the practice of storming the fort. A dirt road was built there to imitate the stone road in front of Shangjia Fort.
Many soldiers were laughing and joking, thinking of killing them head-on, and not wanting to do all this useless work here, but the military attachés were extremely strict and led their men in a strict manner, charging along the dirt road towards the hillock where there were no enemies at all, and they also had to simulate various
The tactical actions were so boring that after a long time, most people were exhausted from the torment.
The terrain where Shang Hu is located is slightly higher, and there are no mountain peaks blocking the view to the north or east. He has an unobstructed view and can clearly see the flanks five or six miles away. The Chuzhou Army's cavalry raids have not stopped, but at this time he also
It can be clearly seen that behind the front line they were guarding, there are two cavalry groups of 200 people massed against two small hills. It seems that they are waiting for the Chuzhou Army cavalry to reveal a flaw and will kill them without hesitation.
.
These two cavalrymen are mainly equipped with crossbows, and each is surrounded by seven or eight crossbow vehicles...
…………
…………
Seeing the final preparations of the Chishan Army to attack Shangjia Fort, and confirming that Han Qian had transferred all the best-equipped guard battalions around him to Shangjia Fort, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but feel a little impatient.
If the Chishan Army storms Shangjiabao, the passage extending south to the north of Xuanzhou will be completely opened. If they do not divide their forces and station in Langxi, the passage between Jieling Mountain and Fuyu Mountain and eastward into Huzhou will be opened.
, is also open to the Chishan Army.
The thousand infantrymen guarding Liyang City had been transferred to Baihu Ridge by Zhao Zhen at this time, and the more than a thousand cavalrymen who had harassed the central and northern sections of Maoshan Mountain with no success from the north flank had also been gathered.
"Since Han Qian has determined that we are not determined to tear apart his flank defense, no matter what, we have to kick this iron plate today!" Zhao Zhen reined in his horse, stopped in front of Wang Wenqian, and said as if to encourage himself.
.
Wang Wenqian looked forward worriedly. The Chishan Army's east flank was still composed of a mixture of new and old soldiers, forty sentries with uneven armor and twenty sentries composed mainly of elite veterans. A total of
There are nearly 5,000 people; there are less than 4,000 elite cavalry on their side. If they really fight hard, they can still overcome the obstacles on the terrain and tear apart the Chishan Army's flank defense line. They just don't know the casualties.
How tragic.
"You have to be careful that Han Qian may have a small number of elite ambushes hidden behind those hills. Also, if Han Qian returns from the northern foot of Donglu Mountain with his elite troops, don't get involved with the Chishan Army! The old prince may also be in Maoshan."
Wang Wenqian said.
Zhao Zhen reined in his horse. His old and skinny face looked as if it had been carved with a knife or an ax, and he looked towards the west against the slightly slanting sun above his head. He had spent half his life on horseback fighting in the north and south.
When his subordinate was only a deputy battalion commander, the Chuzhou Army changed commanders. A large number of battalion commanders in the army were replaced by General Yuhou. Only then did he have the opportunity to serve as a higher general. In recent years, he has been with the Eastern Front.
Liang Jun emerged from the confrontation and grew into a senior general.
Zhao Zhen is actually in his early forties, but he has experienced too many hardships in the past few years, and his face looks extra old. It is no wonder that he leads his soldiers around every day in wind, frost, thunder and rain. His life is not as fine as that of civil servants like Wang Wenqian.
, moisturizing.
Someone saw that the young prince Li Xiu, known as the Tiger Tiger, led a cavalry stationed in Xiaomaofeng. Will the old prince be in Maoshan?
But if the old prince really decided to support the third prince, why did he keep it secret and not tell the world, why was there no news in Hongzhou, and why did the old prince agree with Han Qian's mischief in Maoshan to disrupt the foundation of the family?
Han Qian was standing on a low hill on the southeast side of Maoshan Mountain, less than 300 steps away from the frontline sentry. Looking at the battle situation, on one side of the short hill were two crossbow cavalry teams selected from the elite guard camps.
.
The total strength of the Chishan Army has reached more than 13,000. Of course, there are many who can ride horses, but there are not enough people who are good at fighting the enemy with swords, guns and weapons on horseback, or shooting from a long distance with a long bow.
Bring out the most basic battalion of soldiers and horses.
Then equip yourself with an arm-mounted crossbow, use the crossbow for long-distance combat, and dismount and form a formation for close combat.
If the conditions are poor, you have to find ways to overcome them.
At this time, the nearly 4,000 soldiers and horses assembled by the Chuzhou Army in Baihuling were mainly cavalry and only a thousand infantry. However, when they were really determined to tear off their east flank defense line, Han Qian saw that the opponent was still using
Three infantry conical formations served as the core, and a thousand cavalry were divided into two teams, slowly approaching from both wings of the infantry formation.
In addition, the Chuzhou Army has more than 1,500 cavalry guarding the rear line so that they can respond to various unexpected situations on the battlefield at any time.
"It can be seen that the Chuzhou Army still hesitates to use cavalry. They want to use infantry to tear apart their flank defense line and then use cavalry to expand the victory..." said Han Qian and Zhang Ping and Yuan Guowei beside him.
Yuan Guowei was a veteran who had been fighting on the battlefield for half his life. If he hadn't been old, he would have wanted to lead a group of soldiers to the front line and have a thrilling experience.
Zhang Ping and Feng Yi felt their hearts pounding. They could remain calm on paper, but every time they went to the scene in person, they were still nervous, especially when the battle in front of them affected whether the Chishan Army could go to Xuanzhou.
The north opens up the situation.
Xinchang Hou Li Pu, Li Xiu and others were responsible for keeping an eye on Lishui City forty miles away. As long as Anning Palace did not send additional reinforcements, there was nothing to worry about. Yao Xishui finally chose to stay with Han Qian and watch the battlefield on the east wing.
The change.
It was unimaginable that Han Qian dared to use five thousand miscellaneous soldiers to resist the attack of the elite Chuzhou army, and her delicate heart jumped into her throat.
Han Qian asked Guo Nuer to send out the flag and ordered the sentries on the flanks of the defense line to slowly gather in the direction of the Chuzhou Army's advance and prepare for the impact in a denser formation.
Soon the two armies collided fiercely, sparking a battle of iron and blood. Flesh and blood flew everywhere amid the flash of swords and shadows, and the hoarse shouts roared between heaven and earth.
Wang Wenqian stood in the Baihu Ridge six or seven miles away, listening to the shouts of death carried by the wind. Even though he had watched the fighting in the battle array countless times, his heart could not help but shake. Maybe he could only be a military advisor in this life, but
Probably one of the reasons why we can't unite our troops to charge into battle.
Wang Wenqian stood so far away, so of course he couldn't clearly see the faces of every soldier, but he could see the two armies colliding in a wider range, like a cruel and magnificent picture spreading out between the sky and the earth.
, we can also see the Chishan Army on the east wing more clearly. No matter how they gather together, they still maintain three clear divisions between the left, middle and right.
The Chishan Army's middle road is blocking the Chuzhou Army's infantry attack. The left and right wings should be slightly forward, mainly to restrict their cavalry from moving forward to outflank.
It seems that we have to wait for the infantry to defeat the Chishan Army's center before we can use cavalry to expand the results.
"No, the Chishan Army's resistance in the middle is too determined!" Yin Peng frowned and looked at it for a while, figuring something was wrong. The two armies had been fighting at the contact line for a long time, and the other side didn't even have a sentinel formation.
After being scattered, this was obviously not the new Chishan Army sentry they had tested a few days ago.
It is impossible for new recruits to undergo such a huge transformation in just four or five days.
"Change a pillar - the Chishan Army changed troops at night!" Wang Wenqian exclaimed in surprise.
They judged the new and old soldiers of the Chishan Army mainly based on their armor. It is really unimaginable that Han Qian would replace the old soldiers with new soldiers in the sentry team, without even wearing armor, and fighting with a long bamboo pole?
Judging from the strength of the resistance in the middle of the Chishan Army at this time, it seems that they have secretly used old soldiers to replace new soldiers in the past few days to serve as bamboo pole soldiers.
Obviously, in Han Qian's opinion, instead of having their flanks attacked by them at the same time when they stormed Shangjiapu, it was better to lure them to attack their flanks first - then even if the flanks were deviated, they would still have the opportunity to adjust their deployment.
Before they could send someone to alert the commanders of the battlefield, Zhao Zhen, Wang Wenqian, and Yin Peng, they saw two cavalrymen from the Chishan Army emerge from the forest to the west and advance through the gap in the Chishan Army's front formation.
The echelon of cavalry rushed forward, but they were met with a burst of crossbow arrows as dense as a swarm of locusts.
The Chuzhou Army's cavalry is mainly made of light leather armor, and its defensive power is inferior to that of the armor. The scale armor is large and cannot withstand the fire of the crossbow at close range.
In particular, the two cavalrymen of the Chishan Army had almost four hundred people. Everyone was equipped with a crossbow, and the four hundred crossbows were shooting head-on. It was not easy for anyone. Wang Wenqian and Yin Peng saw from a distance that there were fifty or sixty people on their side.
An elite cavalryman was caught off guard and shot off his horse.
The two cavalrymen of the Chishan Army were equipped with powerful crossbows. After the first one drew and shot, they did not move forward. Instead, they retreated and used the cover of the infantry sentries on both wings and a dozen crossbow vehicles to re-draw the crossbows.
Load crossbow arrows.
Watching the process of the Chishan Army's infantry sentries closing the gap on both wings, Wang Wenqian was so painful that he almost groaned. This was a process designed by Han Qian in advance!
In other words, Han Qian expected that they would still use cavalry and would use the urgently transferred infantry to attack the center of the Chishan Army's flanks.
No matter how anxious Wang Wenqian was, he could not interfere with the situation on the battlefield. At this time, he could only count on Zhao Zhen, who was supervising the battle in the front line, to make timely adjustments. However, Zhao Zhen's field of vision was not as broad as theirs, so he might have been a little confused in the first wave.
You may not be able to react immediately.
Of course, it's not that easy to adjust.
The cavalry retreats. What about the infantry array attacking the center of the Chishan Army? Isn't the flanks exposed?
Retreating together, with different speeds on foot and cavalry, how could it be so easy to distance ourselves from the Chishan Army?
If no changes are made, when the infantry sentries on both wings of the Chishan Army open a gap again, the crossbow cavalry will rush forward again, and the next step will be to fire, how many elite cavalry will be lost?
Zhao Zhen is worthy of being a veteran on the battlefield. Instead of hastily withdrawing the first echelon of cavalry, he ordered them to dismount and form a formation, holding long bows and shooting at the infantry sentries on both wings of the Chishan Army, forcing these sentries to use large shields to protect the enemy.
Most of the old soldiers who were not wearing armor for defense suddenly hesitated in their actions.
Zhao Zhen then ordered the second echelon of cavalry to attack the side and front of the Chishan Army's middle road from Xili.
The fighting became more intense.
The elite crossbow cavalry team was mobilized from the guard camp. Seeing that the gap between the military formations was sealed, they did not detour from further away, and directly dismounted and entered the middle sentry team.
The essence of the Yuanyang Formation is that it can best restrain infantry. This has not been reflected before. The main reason is that the Wolf Fang Sentinel lacks long-range shooters. When four hundred powerful crossbows are added to the infantry sentry, the effect is completely different.
It was difficult for the enemy to make contact in a hurry. They either used heavy armor and heavy shields to resist the long-range shots of bows and crossbows, or they could only use cavalry to attack and trample them regardless of casualties.
It is a pity that the leader of the front formation of the Chuzhou Army was reluctant to escort all three thousand fine cavalry. The more than a thousand infantry transferred from Liyang City were said to be infantry, but they were actually wearing armor that could withstand longbows and had crossbows at their arms.
How many people are there with pierced armor and scaled armor?
Not to mention the infantry guarding Liyang City, most of the elite cavalry led by General Zhao Zhen only wore leather armor, which could only effectively defend against sword slashes and reduce the penetration depth of arrow clusters, but at close range
It cannot withstand the thrusts of spears at a distance, nor can it completely withstand the shots of bows and crossbows at close range.
The current infantry array of the Chuzhou Army mainly relies on the hundreds of large shields and iron shields in the front line to suppress the concentrated fire of wolf-toothed spears and arm-mounted crossbows.
Thanks to the fact that the lethality of the arm-bow crossbow projectile was far less than that of the longbow, the casualties of the Chuzhou Army's infantry array did not suddenly increase. However, more than a dozen crossbow vehicles of the Chishan Army entered the middle of the infantry sentry array and caught a glimpse of the gap to fire their crossbows.
Each arrow with the thickness of a spear can kill two to three people in a row, or directly penetrate the chest and abdomen of a war horse, which is still extremely terrifying.
The second echelon cavalry of the Chuzhou Army directly attacked the middle of the Chishan Army, but there were only 400 people.
Although they continuously defeated three infantry sentries in the middle of the Chishan Army regardless of casualties, it was difficult to advance even half a step further.
Because what they faced next was the elite and reinforced infantry sentries from the guard battalion.
Zhao Zhen put dozens of heavily armored cavalry in the second echelon of cavalry, but the impact speed of the war horses was suppressed. At the same time, facing the branched wolf teeth, even if the war horses were wearing armor, their eyes etc.
Vulnerable parts are also very easy to be attacked. The heavy armored cavalry cannot retreat at this time, so they can only be used as heavy armored soldiers, and cannot exert greater advantages.
For the elite guards of the Chishan Army, after the crossbow arrows were fired, they immediately put their crossbows aside and exchanged their spears, spears, knives and halberds to attack the fierce soldiers of the Chuzhou Army who were not retreating.
The wolf's fangs are more stable in the hands of the old pawns and have better coordination, which means that they can better block the enemy five meters away. As long as there is a slight gap, they can only use the swords and shields of their own formation.
Or an old soldier holding a halberd saw an opportunity and rushed forward two steps to take advantage of the chaos and chop a few times, then retreated after ten hits.
The fighting became more intense, and the earth flowed into rivers of blood.
Seeing the Chishan Army's resolute resistance on the flanks, Zhao Zhen finally did not dare to advance the more than 1,500 cavalry in the rear formation. When he led the remaining troops to cross and retreat to Baihu Ridge, more than 2,000 generals on both sides had fallen in front of the battlefield.
Death.
The injured but not dead war horses were neighing and wailing on the battlefield, struggling to get up.
Zhao Zhen's face was ashen. He didn't expect that he would be so unbearable even if he was determined to kill him.
The Chishan Army did not pursue him. He reined in the reins and looked at the remnants, secretly estimating their casualties. At this time, they looked similar to the Chishan Army, but they were withdrawing from the battlefield in embarrassment. Those wounded soldiers who did not have time to withdraw from the battlefield would become the Chishan Army.
The army's spoils of war and the final casualty ratio would be even more severe on their side.
In the past, the strength of the troops was four thousand versus five thousand, but now the gap in strength is not only not short, but also wider.
The loss of thousands of soldiers and horses failed to shake the Chishan Army's flank defenses, and Han Qian could always transfer more troops from the northern foot of Donglu Mountain, which was just around the corner. Zhao Zhen had no confidence to continue the fight.
Wang Wenqian was also silent. There was no problem with Zhao Zhen's command. Even if they knew before the war that Han Qian had secretly replaced new soldiers with more veterans and incorporated them into the flank defense line, they would not be willing to just sit back and watch the Chishan Army attack without fighting.
Shangjiapu.
In the final analysis, the Chishan Army is a ragtag group, and its combat effectiveness is far less weak than they imagined.
What they have to consider next is no longer whether Shangjia Fort can be defended, but how the entire war situation will change after the Chishan Army opens the passage extending to the north of Xuanzhou, and how they can calmly